Coven
by Azuraa
Summary: After Witch's Tail, Piper makes some decisions about the future....
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, sorry, just borrowing Spoilers: some for "A Witch's Tail", this story takes place right after that episode, then diverges into AU  
  
Coven  
  
Piper woke with a start. It took her a moment to remember where she was. She'd been so tired after the whole 'Phoebe is a mermaid and there's a skeletal demon after her' fiasco. When they'd all gotten home, she'd fallen asleep on the couch. Leo must have carried her upstairs.  
  
Why was the bedroom so cold?! Dark was understandable, but-- "Oh, for-- Leo, I swear, one of these days--" she grabbed the edge of the comforter, and tugged. To no avail. Leo was a wonderful husband, no argument; yet, he had a few very irksome habits, even in bed. Like stealing the covers.  
  
"Mmm? Sorry, honey," he mumbled. He shifted, unwrapping himself from the pile of comforter and sheets he'd cocooned himself in. Piper drew the blankets over herself. Leo fell back asleep . Piper thought about snuggling in next to him, deciding against it. Her husband didn't sleep all that soundly most nights. She wondered, not for the first time, just how much Leo could sense about his charges. Judging by what had happened two years ago when they encountered Eames, his awareness of other witches was more like one of the five senses than a skill he had to work to exercise. He felt their emotions, pain, fear, need, could locate a witch over considerable distance....what else?  
  
Piper hadn't wanted to ask. As far as she was concerned, the Whitelighters' 'calling' was a mixed blessing. The job took up enough of Leo's time; when he was here, unless they were both working, she wanted to let him just be Leo, if he wanted. He did enjoy relief from his work.  
  
But if our baby is going to be a 'Lighter too, I need to know more than he's telling me, she thought. She considered. Ok. But I know his elders are probably going to tell him not to "tell me everything", once he reports in to them again. I hope they appreciate how loyal he is, she seethed . They don't do a whole lot to deserve it, seems to me! "Piper? You're not still annoyed with me, are you?" Leo's soft voice held a mix of surprise and concern. "Do you want another blanket?" "No, I'm okay. I thought you were asleep." She sat up, looking over at him. " I...need to talk to you, though."  
  
He held out his arms , an invitation she didn't hesitate to accept. Drawing her close, he kissed her. She shivered. "Um. Leo, I can't--thinkwhenyoudothat-- "  
  
"That's the idea," he whispered, trailing soft kisses along her neck. It was several minutes before Piper could get her mind back on the conversation she'd been trying to hold. Leo's eyes held amusement as he deliberately licked his lips. "Mmm. I shouldn't be surprised that a chef ....has good taste."  
  
Piper blushed a vivid pink. Even after all this time, Leo was capable of getting under her skin. How had she ever gotten so lucky?  
  
"I love you," she said, squeezing his hand.  
  
His face softened. "And I, you," he answered immediately. He lay back, watching her, waiting for her to speak. "About you....and the baby. Leo, I've been trying not to pry. I don't want to fight with you, and I definitely don't want to get the Elders pissed off at us again. But...there's stuff I need to know, after all this. "  
  
"The Elders aren't listening to us right now. Anyway, you're the one carrying this baby. If anyone's entitled to hear our 'deep dark secrets'--such as they are-- it's you. If they have a problem with that, too bad."  
  
"All right. First up-- I'm glad the baby has your healing power too. Does that mean she'll be like Paige, able to orb too, and sense witches?"  
  
"I'm not sure," Leo said. "I'm not trying to be evasive, Piper. I don't want to say definitely 'yes' or 'no' when I'm still speculating. The healing a Whitelighter does is an enhanced form of the natural healing a person's body does, accelerated so that it takes only seconds or minutes. It's almost instinctive to us, all we really have to do is put energy into it, and want to heal badly enough. So it doesn't surprise me that the baby's able to do it. Orbing's a bit more complicated, and takes abstract reasoning. I don't think you're going to be doing that anytime soon. The baby's hopefully comfortable where she is. As for sensing witches, I don't know how we'd tell if she does or not, until she's born. I can sense her, very clearly, and I believe she's aware of you and me on some level--but she didn't react to Necron's presence, or to Paige's and Phoebe's, that I could detect."  
  
"Sense her--as another Whitelighter, or--?"  
  
"Whitelighter and witch. Witches don't--feel the same, but I don't really know how to put it in words. She's both. That I am certain of."  
  
"Is she...." Piper hesitated. "Leo, is she mortal?"  
  
"What? I just-- oh. You mean, will she age . Yes. That's not....it's less a power than a-- a change imposed on us. We...the Elders, and the Whitelighters to a lesser extent, manipulate energy. Time is one form of that. When someone becomes a Whitelighter, they're-- their bodies are put into a kind of stasis, they don't grow older, don't suffer natural illness or decay. That's why no one ever thought that one of us might be able to have a child. Obviously it's not total-- I need to eat, to rest, to breathe-- The only way for her to not age would be to die. As I did. It's necessary. Not just so a Whitelighter can do their job without worrying about health or old age, but because of the 'drift' between here and 'upstairs'. A day there is like a month or longer here. We'd be constantly out of sync with the Elders and each other if time affected us normally. Sorry, wandering off the subject."  
  
"It's okay. I think you've answered most of the questions I have." She hesitated, then, "I've been thinking...I...I'm not afraid anymore, the way I was. But...I want to be this baby's mother for real, Leo, not just when it's 'safe' or 'reasonable'. I think we need to make some changes. I know we can't ignore our work, abandon it....what I'm thinking is--if you and I, and I hope someday Phoebe and Paige, want families, that needs more than the four of us."  
  
He looked thoughtful. Raised his eyebrows in a silent question. "I need to ask Grams about this. However...we're the only Charmed Ones, that's not the same as 'we're the only witches descended from Melinda Warren.' And certainly not the only good witches in San Francisco. Aunt Gail told us--and Dad mentioned this too--that Grams wasn't a solitary practitioner. She left her coven after Mom died. We might be stronger if we worked together at least sometimes--us, and San Francisco's other protectors. "  
  
"You want to reform the coven, or found one of your own?"  
  
"Our own. I'll see what the Book of Shadows has to say on the subject tomorrow, and maybe I'll ask her or Mom for advice."  
  
"Check your family tree," Leo suggested. "Melinda had only one daughter, but Prudence had several children. At least some of your cousins are born witches too."  
  
"Are any of them your charges?"  
  
"No." "Ok. Grams. Tomorrow. For now...." She smirked a little as she leaned over him. "Where were we...? Oh right..." Piper slid her hands up onto his shoulders, and lowered her mouth to his.  
  
TBC soon.... 


	2. Casting Call

Coven  
  
" ....cross now the great divide," Piper finished, and stepped back. Light swirled within the circle, coalescing into a woman's image.  
  
Piper's dark eyes narrowed. "Aunt Gail?" Her tone was sharp. "I was trying to reach Grams--what--"  
  
Gail Johnson, Piper's great-aunt, looked at the Charmed One thoughtfully.  
  
She tilted her head, listening to something Piper couldn't hear. "Penny is... rather busy at the moment," she said. "But if the Elders sent me to you, that must mean I can answer whatever you need to ask. What is it, honey?"  
  
"Honey?"  
  
"You have a right to be angry about what I tried to do to you," the spirit acknowledged. "But that's not what's on your mind. Something to do with...the baby? This isn't just normal first-time mother jitters."  
  
Piper stiffened. "Can you tell what I'm thinking?"  
  
"That was part of my powers. It's not as strong or reliable anymore," Gail said. "Comes and goes. Well, I am one of Melinda's descendants too," she pointed out. "Her granddaughter Cassandra had five children-- the Halliwells are Melinda's direct descendants, not the only ones. Nor the only witches."  
  
"That's what I need to know about."  
  
"Your family background?"  
  
Piper hesitated. Gail smiled sadly. "I can't do anything to hurt you now, even if I did want to. And for what it's worth, I am sorry. I shouldn't have let my fear get ahold of me like that. Well, leave that for now. Penny had a copy of the family tree, dating back to Melinda Warren's birth. She kept it with this old photo album....both should be in the Manor somewhere. The cousins are listed there too. We've all had to try to be discreet...so there isn't as much contact between the families as one might think. Wasn't even when the blood ties were closer. Usually it was the crones--the oldest women in each family--who had the lines of communication. The addresses and phone numbers for the three 'branch families' would be with the genealogy records."  
  
"I think I've seen that.Grams never talked much about them." Piper nodded. "I...think that answers most of what I need to know. Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome. Oh-- ah, I should get back. Someone's looking for me."  
  
"Tell Prue I love her?" Piper blurted.  
  
"Sure . Blessed be, Piper."  
  
"T-to you, too, Aunt Gail..." but the spirit had already vanished.  
  
Piper extinguished the candles.  
  
After a quick breakfast, she returned to the attic to hunt through the assorted piles of old clothing, books, and antiques. It took her most of an hour to locate the family tree.  
  
She took the book and photo album down to the kitchen.  
  
"Hey, whatcha' doing?"  
  
Piper jumped, startled. "Paige, I didn't hear you come in-- Is it lunchtime already?" She glanced up at the clock.  
  
"Nearly," her sister replied.  
  
"I was looking at our family tree, and some old pictures from Grams' time. Mom's in here too, Dad-- your father too...."  
  
"My father was Jason Matthews, Piper," Paige interrupted gently, with a firm undertone to her words. Piper felt herself turn an unattractive shade of tomato red. "I--"  
  
"It's okay. I understood what you meant. I'm not mad, it's just... it takes more than sperm to make a man a father. At least that's what I believe. "  
  
Piper searched for words. "Your parents must have been wonderful people-- knowing you, tells me that. I didn't mean you should put anyone else in their place. And...you shouldn't feel you can't talk about them either. About your life before you met us. You know, I don't think you've ever even told us what their names were. Jason, and...?"  
  
" Savannah."  
  
"Oh, that is a beautiful name!"  
  
Paige smiled. "She grew up in Atlanta. Dad used to tease her, call her 'Scarlett', or 'his southern belle'...They met when she was a student at Stanford. She got her degree in art there. She was the one who taught me to draw, when I was little. Some kids had bedtime stories, I had crayons and chalk. "  
  
"Do....you ever think about wanting a family of your own?"  
  
Paige gave her older sister a long look. Piper could almost see Paige thinking, trying to figure out where this conversation was headed. "Sometimes. I haven't met a man I'd want to spend my whole life with, and being a single mother...if it happened, I wouldn't refuse to have the baby, or give her up, but I'd just as soon not be in that situation. Now especially. What, are you playing matchmaker? Please don't," she added, shuddering. "Me and blind dates-- not a place I want to go again."  
  
"Yes and no."  
  
"What yes and no? You sound like a politician," Paige complained, grinning as she said it.  
  
"I...asked Leo to look in on some of our more distant cousins. Melinda Warren--our family's founder-- had only one daughter, but her daughter had several children. Most of them inherited the magic too. Cassandra--Melinda's granddaughter-- married another witch. So the abilities didn't die out. If any of the younger members of the other families-- Morgan, O' Healy, and Baxter-- seem like they're trustworthy, and they're interested, I...was thinking of asking them to come to San Francisco for a while."  
  
"For like a family reunion, Wicca style?"  
  
"Witch style. For something a little more permanent...if everyone agrees. I've been reading our family's stories. Til Mom was born, our ancestors always tried to have more than one child, and usually married witches, or at least mortals who knew the score. It's how they were able to fight demons and warlocks and--deal , everything, while bringing up families. It was never just the parents who had to handle all of it, siblings and cousins and in-laws were there. Grams only had one sister, though, and their parents died when they were teenagers. Then she only had one child. So that 'support network' did a fadeout. I'd like to get back in touch with some of these people. Not like there haven't been times when we could really have used some help, even when the three of us were together. And I want to talk to some of the practitioners here in San Francisco, the solitaries. See if any of them have suggestions on how I handle stuff like work and --gahh--doctor's appointments with a baby that's leaking magic. They'd benefit from help from other witches, they're the most vulnerable when demons are out for blood." Piper shivered, remembering some of the deaths she'd seen over the past four years.  
  
"No argument there. You've seriously thought this out, huh? You want to be our coven's -- what is it, 'high priestess'?"  
  
"That's something Wicca-- the modern version-- came up with. Witchcraft, the tradition we're using, goes back centuries, 'Wicca' was only founded about sixty years ago. High Priestess Piper. Right."  
  
"I guess I still don't get the difference," Paige said.  
  
" Leo and I are going to visit some of the locals when he gets back. Why don't you come with us and find out?"  
  
"You're on! Oh-- Can I drive?"  
  
"Magic does not equal miracles, Paige," Piper said.  
  
* * * Phoebe and Leo returned home later that afternoon. Piper and Paige had spent the day together. They'd had lunch, which Paige fixed-- "you've done enough work for one day, and even I can't screw up vegetable soup and sandwiches all that badly." Leo orbed into the kitchen. Piper and Paige were watching a documentary featuring dolphins and sharks.  
  
"...but doesn't it sound exciting?"  
  
"Piper, I go out weekly fighting the forces of evil. I don't also need the  
  
stimulation of getting into a tank with animals that consider me their version of potato chips."  
  
"How'd it go?" Piper asked her husband.  
  
"The O'Healys send their regards. I don't think any of them can be spared from El Paso right now, Piper. Siobhan's the elder, and her grandson's wife is expecting their second child. She's having a bad time. He won't leave her, neither will Siobhan or Maeve--that's Siobhan's daughter, and a healer. She--Siobhan-- said once the baby's born and they know both of them are okay, she'll be happy to come, but that's at least three more months. The Baxters..." Leo scowled. "Their Whitelighter could use a lesson in manners."  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"It's not important." He shook himself. "Just some people who have been around for a couple centuries and still haven't learned to mind their own business. I spoke with Thomas Baxter. The youngest children-- Poppy and Dylan, they're twins-- are fifteen now. Thomas wants to get them out of New York for a while...seems Poppy does have powers, including telekinesis, and she's having a hard time getting a handle on it. Making it worse is the fact that Karen--Thomas' wife-- is mortal and has no idea he's a witch, much less that their twins are. Their oldest, Jon, apparently hasn't inherited."  
  
"Bring them here," Piper said at once.  
  
"Um. I already did," Leo admitted sheepishly.  
  
Piper glanced around. "Where...?"  
  
The hardcover book Leo was carrying slid out from between his fingers, morphing into a skinny, blond-haired, green-eyed boy.  
  
"Dylan?" Piper guessed.  
  
He nodded, tugging at his jacket. "P-p-pleased to meet you, ma'am. My sister's here, yeah," he added. "She's invisible."  
  
"Pleased to meet you, too. Poppy, we like to be able to see our guests, so if you'd come out for now....."  
  
"I can't!" a girl's voice exploded. She sounded completely out of patience. "DYLAN--"  
  
"I don't know how I did it, Poppy--I'm trying, honest!"  
  
Phoebe, Piper, and Paige gazed at the spot where the voice was coming from. "May you live in interesting times," Piper murmured, and went to get the Book of Shadows. 


	3. Call Waiting

Coven  
  
"So Dylan is a shapechanger. Normally he can only make changes in himself,  
  
but because Poppy's his twin, once in a while she's affected, " Paige summed up.  
  
"It usually wears off right away," Dylan said .  
  
"How long has she been invisible?" .  
  
"Sixteen hours," Poppy's voice answered. "Since last night, about eleven. Dad tried a couple of reversal spells. No dice."  
  
"How'd you ever keep your mother out of the loop all that time?" Paige asked.  
  
"Practice. Lots and lots."  
  
Phoebe shook her head. "That's not right. He should have told her."  
  
"Miss Halliwell-- Or is it Mrs.?"  
  
"No, you got it in one. Piper's the only Mrs. anything now."  
  
"Ok. Miss Halliwell, New York may not be Salem, but it's not California either. I know magic and witches are 'trendy'-- still, not everyone understands we aren't demon worshippers. And Mom makes most skeptics look wishwashier than Charlie Brown. Short of actually using his powers right in front of her, I don't think she'd believe it--"  
  
"-- then why doesn't he?"  
  
"His powers are the killing touch and firestarting. Which one do you think he should use for a demonstration?" Poppy retorted.  
  
"Hold on, I think I have an answer. Dylan, have you been in the same room as Poppy since this happened?" Piper interrupted as Phoebe started to argue.  
  
"Pretty much. She hasn't slept, that's why she's so cranky. "  
  
". Leo, will you take him 'upstairs' for a few minutes?"  
  
The Whitelighter orbed away with Dylan . "Poppy, come over here, stand by the table."  
  
One of the chairs was pulled out. "I'm here."  
  
Piper motioned for her sisters to stand back. She grabbed the salt shaker. Walking clockwise around the table, she made a rough circle on the floor. When she returned to her starting point, she stepped outside the salt, and closed it up. "No magic cross from either side, within the circle no spell abide," she said clearly. Poppy appeared, sitting in the chair. "Thank you!"  
  
"I warded them from each other temporarily," Piper explained. "I figured the link between them might be screwing up the reversal spells, those aren't designed to be used on more than one person at a time. With this twin connection of theirs, it's like they're-- not exactly separate beings."  
  
"Is she going to turn invisible again when he comes back?"  
  
"No. I can feel it when there's magic going between us," Poppy said. "I just couldn't figure out how to turn it off . " She pushed tangled, damp chestnut hair out of her face. "Thank you, and I am grateful you thought we might be good candidates for this coven you're trying to put together, but, could we maybe talk about it later? Dylan's right that I couldn't sleep, I..." she winced.  
  
"C'mon," Phoebe invited. "I'll show you where you can lie down."  
  
They left. Poppy gestured, not looking back. The chair slid in to bump against the table.  
  
"She's good," Piper said. "P--most telekinetics have to see what they're moving."  
  
"We're going to need more adult witches," Paige said dubiously. "I mean, they're good kids, and obviously talented--"  
  
"Phoebe had a good idea about that," Piper reassured her . "Two good ideas. She suggested I talk to another witch we know, a friend of ours named Stevie.She could help us weed out the wannabes from the real talent. And she suggested another possible candidate- - a guy, one Prue identified as being a potential witch, though he hasn't learned the craft. He's not too old or inflexible to start."  
  
"Oh. Where is he? Is he cute?"  
  
"Prue thought so. I'm going to phone him." Piper skimmed through the phone book.  
  
"You don't have his home number already?"  
  
"Ah, well, he's not living at home yet. Yes, hello. I'd like to speak to one of the inmates, please? Bane Jessup is his name. Thanks-- Yes, I'll hold."  
  
Leo orbed in while Piper talked animatedly on the phone. "Where's Dylan?" whispered Paige.  
  
"He's kind of shy. I think that might've been what led to this whole 'disappearing act'."  
  
"Don't tell me he's--"  
  
"No, just trying to be unnoticed." Leo held up a neatly folded pair of argyle socks.  
  
"That's too bad," Piper said as she hung up. "I was going to make lasagna, with Italian sausage, but if Dylan's not interested....."  
  
Dylan hastily morphed into human again. "Oh, I am," he said. "Lasagna's my favorite. I'll even help make it."  
  
"Why argyle?" Paige wanted to know.  
  
"It's safest. No one touches me if I have stripes or if I'm plaid."  
  
Paige blinked. "You know what's scary to me, this is the most logical conversation I've had all day," she said to Leo.  
  
"Whoa! That is disturbing." Leo chuckled. "Come on. Let's get out of here, let these two be alone with the noodles and you can tell me why today was so strange."  
  
"Definitely. And I want the skinny on this Bane character."  
  
"You can ask him yourself," Piper said. "He's out on parole in three days. He'll be here in four. "  
  
"You think he's honestly changed for the better?" Leo glanced over his shoulder.  
  
"We'll find out. We'll handle it, either way." 


	4. Talent Scout

Coven  
  
"I didn't do it on purpose-- Gavin, please--you're hurting me! LET GO!" Cara screamed at him.  
  
Her boyfriend released her, a disgusted look on his face. "That's always your excuse, isn't it? You know it's wrong--and to use that magic on a human! Wasn't tormenting animals enough fun for you?"  
  
"I don't hurt them," she shot back, growing angry. "I wasn't trying to hurt Jamal, either! You know that! He was one of my best friends--I just--I couldn't stop missing him, and--"  
  
Rose slapped her. Hard.  
  
She reeled back against the front door. Blood trickled from her lip where her mother had struck her mouth.  
  
The older woman's voice was pure ice. "Your refusal to control this-- capability--of yours put all of Brightlocke Coven at risk. You might think about that, if you don't care how much you terrified that young man's family.  
  
Weaker minds might have been driven insane by what you did, and there's no spell to fix that. I won't tolerate a repeat performance, Cara. You've brought disgrace on us by your screwups. On me. As your coven leader, if you won't control your magic from now on, I'll do it for you. Is that clear?"  
  
"Yes," Cara whispered, not meeting Rose's eyes.  
  
"Go upstairs, get changed and wash that mud off you. Do you need a healing for that cut you made on your arm?" asked Rose, somewhat calmer now.  
  
"No. I'll manage, thank you." Cara climbed the stairs. Her arm still ached where Gavin had been holding her. "Like I'd ever want them healing me-- I don't even want to look at them again--"  
  
She needed to leave. It wasn't the first time she'd thought it. Ever since she started college two years ago, her family seemed to grow more and more controlling. As if they thought she might be slipping away, Cara realized. Nor were they entirely wrong. She couldn't go along with their hopes for her. Stay in Los Angeles her whole life, work with Brightlocke, maybe take over as coven leader, marry Gavin Westlake....the thought of that made her shudder. No.  
  
"I don't need them for healing...or to run the rest of my life for me," she whispered.  
  
She changed her clothing, bandaging the thin slice she'd opened on her forearm, and quietly packed her diary, spell books, and a few other items in her gym bag. Someone knocked on the bedroom door, then opened it without waiting for a response. She whirled to stare at Gavin. "Excuse me, did I say you could come in here?"  
  
He was nonplussed. "Why aren't you dressed for Sabbat ? You need your robe, not a T-shirt and those--pants--"  
  
"I'm not going to any circle tonight. I'm through with that. You all gave me a choice-- serve as your punching bag, or leave Brightlocke. I'm going with door number two."  
  
"That's not an option."  
  
"Watch. Me. " She silently cast a spell she'd learned, to teleport herself short distances. She reappeared at the bus terminal. It only took her a moment to buy her ticket; she knew where she wanted to go.  
  
Leo Wyatt, her Whitelighter, had recently been married. She'd sent him one of her carvings as a wedding present. He'd invited her to "come by sometime and meet the Charmed Ones". Cara doubted that he'd expected her to take him up on it. However, knowing Leo for almost as long as she could recall, she knew that he wouldn't throw her out on her ass..... Or look at her as if she were ....revolting. Something only to be afraid of.  
  
Hot tears silently burned her cheeks. No one spoke to her. The bus was more than half empty. Cara was grateful for that. Normally, she didn't like being alone, but....normal didn't exist for her anymore.  
  
* * *  
  
Piper pulled the SUV up to the curb in front of Stevie Norris' bookstore. Paige followed her into Open Minds eagerly.  
  
"Stevie?" Piper called, seeing no one inside.  
  
"Over here," Stevie responded. She was standing atop a ladder, shelving books. "I'm glad you called. I'll be happy to--" The ladder bucked. Fell sideways. Piper realized that Stevie was in for a fall that might not only hurt but kill the woman. The ladder she'd been standing on was at the front of the store, only a short distance from a sheet of plate glass--and Stevie's trajectory was going to take her right through it.  
  
She flung out her hands, trying to freeze the woman.  
  
It didn't work.  
  
"Paige--!"  
  
"I can't!"  
  
Piper switched gears, attempting the only other thing that came to mind: she hurled every bit of power she had, not at Stevie, but at the objects below her. No one else was in the way. She was free to cut loose. The window and ladder disintegrated. They didn't simply break into pieces-- they glowed fiercely and dissolved, leaving only fine, glistening dust.  
  
Paige orbed out. She appeared beneath Stevie. The woman's body crashed into her. They hit the sidewalk. Piper ran outside, yelling for Leo. Paige was unconscious, bleeding from a scalp wound. Stevie was awake, but her face was white, twisted with pain. "I think my arm's broken," she said weakly.  
  
"Leo!"  
  
Damn it, where was he? 


	5. Blondes Don't Have Fun

                                                 **Coven **

 Leo  was in the nursery, working on the last coat of wall paint. He and Piper had 

 finally decided on a color scheme that she described as "baby pastels", soft hues

of pink and yellow. He'd painted one wall with a mural Paige had drawn, of

zoo animals and trees.  The delighted smile on her face when he'd asked her to

come up with something, more than made up for the extra work.  

He set down his brush and surveyed his work critically. Yes, that should do it--

He stiffened as his senses picked up an all-too-familiar  presence

jjust outside the Manor. _Darklighter. Not very powerful, or old. Probably a_

_newly made one, hoping to score points with his recruiter...no, not his, _he

realized. _She. _That was unusual, though not unheard of.  

Darklighters won status, rose in their hierarchy, by accomplishment, such

as killing a powerful witch or Whitelighter. 

Leo tried not to think about the fact that Piper's pregnancy would allow 

a Darklighter to accomplish both at the same time.  Letting fear cloud his

mind helped no one, and he didn't want Piper to spend the next several 

months in dread. The birth of a child should be something to look forward

to, joyous. He couldn't entirely avoid worries, but he wouldn't add to them.

He strode  downstairs. "Phoebe,"  he called. "Is Darryl still there?"

"Right here, man," Darryl emerged from the sunroom. "Phoebe was just

telling me you're--" he stopped. "What is it?"  he asked, seeing Leo's

expression. Darryl's manner shifted instantly, from "friend visiting" to

"cop ready for action." 

"That lady who's outside..." Leo peered out the front window. A  black Mustang

was parked a block down from the Manor. The woman was ostentatiously 

trying to change a flat tire. She looked. ..well, normal. Jeans and a Hard Rock

Cafe T-shirt,  no black leather or trenchcoats. Slim, blonde, some would have

called her beautiful. Of course, most people wouldn't have been able to sense

that she was radiating malice and greed like a fire giving off heat.

"A demon?"

"Darklighter."

"And she's hanging out here?" Phoebe asked incredulously. "Obviously they didn't

recruit her for brains or survival instinct."

"No, more likely for ruthlessness. I....don't want her here  when Piper gets back."

"Do you have any shadowsbane made?" asked Poppy, coming up behind them.Startled,

Phoebe raised her arm reflexively, and Poppy dropped to the floor, crouching  as if to

avoid a blow.  "Sorry!" 

"Don't _do _that! What's--shadowsbane?"

The girl frowned. "Maybe you call it by another name. It's a potion that's made to vanquish

Darklighters. Most witches I know keep some made up, just in case. You don't ?"

"I've never even heard of it." Phoebe stared at Leo.  He grimaced. "Most of the ingredients

are pretty rare in this neck of the woods. Or illegal."

Poppy turned to her twin. "Do we have any in the stuff we brought?"

"Yes, I think so." Dylan hurried up the staircase. He returned only seconds later, holding a

lead vial.  He handed it to Phoebe. " A few drops will do it. On a Darklighter's skin, though

if they drank it, that'd work too. It won't hurt a human, or a witch or 'Lighter," he added

quickly. 

Leo tensed. "Piper's calling me--" 

"Is she  in trouble?"

"She's not hurt, neither is Paige, but they're scared."

"Go, go!" Phoebe ordered. "We'll handle Ms. Bloodthirsty."

Leo orbed away.  Poppy turned to the younger witches. "Can you...do anything to keep her

from running or teleporting before I can get close enough? Maybe hit her with

something--knock her out?"

"I can, but I think there might be  an easier way. Darklighters aren't bulletproof. It

won't _kill _them, but it hurts. " Poppy gestured to Darryl.

"Not a bad idea, except for what happens if the neighbors hear gunshots, or

report seeing me shoot her. Especially if she's dead afterward, or disappears."

"Oops. Ok. I'll go, ask if she needs help. Play dumb. Can either throw those trash

cans or the jack at her, or just knock her down.  C'mon, let's do it like we're 

jgoing out somewhere. " Poppy went out the front door. Phoebe and Darryl 

followed, Phoebe taking her jacket as she did.  They walked over to Darryl's 

blue sedan, parked by the curb.

Phoebe and Darryl stayed by the car,  opening the doors. Poppy glanced

toward the Darklighter. "Hold on, guys," she called, loudly enough for the

Darklighter to hear. She jogged toward the Mustang. "Ma'am? Are you all

right?" 

"I have a flat. I'm trying to get it off..." The blonde smiled ruefully up at

Poppy as she knelt beside the front tire. 

"You want me to call someone for you?" Poppy offered. 

The Darklighter blushed. "This is my boyfriend's car," she said. "If he hears

I had to call a mechanic....could your friend  maybe just help me for a minute?"

She pointed toward Darryl. He started toward them, Phoebe trailing behind.

"Sure. Oh, sorry, I'm being way rude. My name's Poppy Baxter."

"Pleased to meetcha, Poppy. I'm Alice Hicks."  Alice stood. 

Poppy knocked her down with a slight wave of her hand. 

There was a muffled _crack, _as Alice's right leg and arm twisted at extreme 

angles. The Darklighter cried out in pain. Phoebe and Darryl ran toward them.

Blood was gushing from Alice's nose.  The jack she'd been holding was bent,

almost snapped in two.

Phoebe whistled. "Woa, you don't screw around, do you?" She uncapped the

vial, letting three drops of it fall onto the Darklighter's face.

"No. That's sort of the problem...I can't seem to rein it in. If I try to just move

something, I'm likely to break it even if I don't mean to. And I don't dare 

use the power on someone if I'm not trying  to hurt them..." 

Alice began gasping for breath. Her face turned blue. She grasped at her

neck with her left hand, as if choking. Suddenly, her blonde hair turned white,

her face wrinkling, hands growing thin and withered. In only a few minutes

she aged from young woman to decrepit.....and then to lifelessness, leaving

a limp, half-rotted corpse. The body dissolved into ashes.  Phoebe gasped.

Poppy took an empty vial out of her pocket, bending over the pile of ashes.

"What...?"

"It's one of the  ingredients for the shadowsbane potion," Poppy said. "There

are other ways to kill Darklighters, sure, it's just this will work for anyone, even

if they don't have magic. With your Whitelighter and Ms.Matthews both living

here, you should have some."

"What are the rest of the ingredients?"

"Ergot, jervain, fig  leaves, peyote, iron crushed or ground to powder, and

mercury."

"Oh."

"Why don't we talk about it later," Poppy suggested, seeing Darryl's uneasy

look.  She capped the vial, slipping it into her pocket.  They started walking

back to the house. 

"Ms. Halliwell--" Poppy faltered.

"Phoebe," the Charmed One said firmly. 

"Thanks. I just....I had to leave. You should know....it's because I unintentionally

used my powers in front of a cop. I had to help Dad with a vanquish and....he

got hurt. I freaked. The cop couldn't _arrest _me, there was no proof, but....he

kept watching me and the rest of us. We couldn't get anything done. How do

you avoid that here?"

"Darryl covers for us when he can. The rest of the time, well, let's just say we've

all gotten very good at white lies and good explanations for weirdness."

"Amen!"  from Darryl. Poppy finally laughed. 

Phoebe squeezed Poppy's hand. "Don't worry. You're going to be an amazing

witch, when we're done. Even moreso than you are now. However, we've got

more important business right now. Movie night--and no votes for horror movies,

please. If you live in Alaska you don't go to Norway for vacation."

"_No kidding!" _from Poppy and Dylan as well as Darryl. 

*         *           *

Leo materialized in the Open Minds bookstore. He ran over to where Paige and

Stevie lay bleeding. Piper stood by anxiously, as he tried to heal them. 

"What's wrong?" 

"How did this happen?"

"Stevie was up on the ladder, sorting her books, and the ladder gave way. She

fell. I tried to freeze her, but I couldn't. Paige couldn't orb her."

Leo gritted his teeth. "I can't heal them. This didn't happen when they were

fighting evil...I'm not supposed to interfere in natural events. The elders have

started cracking down on that. You have your cell phone? We need to get them

to a hospital."

"I left it in the car, hold on." Piper ran to the SUV. 

She stopped as she reached the driver's side door.  "Ah...Leo...?"

Leo looked up. 

Four men stood in a rough semicircle around Piper....and at least one of them

was holding a gun pointed at his wife. Another turned, aiming a shotgun at the

Whitelighter's head.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  


  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	6. Wild Card

                                             **Coven **

 "What do you want?" Piper asked. Her voice didn't betray fear.  She wasn't going to let

  them see any weakness in her.

  The man who was pointing a gun at her chest stared at her. "Are you a witch?" he

  demanded.

  "Who's asking?" she challenged.   
     
   "David Wilkes, of the Free House  of God," he answered,  startled by her bluntness into

    replying honestly.

    "Well, David Wilkes,  if you're trying to convince me you're really Christian, threatening

     me and my husband--and  our   baby-- isn't the best way."  
     

    "Are you pregnant?"    
  


     Piper nodded.  

     She was close enough to freeze them, but--what if it didn't work this time, either? She

   could blow him up.....but he wouldn't survive any better than most demons. _Please, don't_

_make me do that, _she begged silently.   
  
     A strange mix of fear and hope crossed Wilkes' face.  He glanced at the other men. "Stand down,"

     he said.

     "She's playing you!" one of them argued.  "Even if she is knocked up, so what? Two for the--"  
      
      Wilkes shot him.  

       The bullet went through the man's shoulder, spinning him around with the force of impact. He

        fell. Blood sprayed over his  clothing, hands, everywhere. Piper's stomach lurched. 

       "Don't. Question. My. Orders. "  

       The two uninjured men averted their eyes,  submissively.

       "Go on. Take him back to the conclave, get him patched up. "   
  
        They dragged their injured comrade to a nearby car. Wilkes watched them go. Seeing the

        puzzlement in Piper's and Leo's eyes, he chuckled mirthlessly.  

  
        "I won't ask again if you're a witch. You have no reason to give me the truth anyway. And

        despite what you may hear about us, we don't hurt children. "  
  
        "But witches?"  

         "We came because one of us who is....sensitive to such things, felt magic being

           used here, destructively. " He looked toward the storefront. Piper controlled her

           emotions despite sudden apprehension.

          "I believe these practices are wrong. Yes.  God did not intend us to wield the sort of

           power  true witches use. To call on Powers outside ourselves is hubris. Greed of the

           worst  sort.  And far worse, when  the witch turns to evil for yet _more _power.  What

           shall it profit a man to gain the world, and lose his soul?"  

           Piper took a deep breath. " Please....I can't....argue with you now. My sister and

           Stevie are both hurt. They need a doctor.  Will you --please, just go? We haven't done

           anything to hurt you, no matter what you think of us, or believe."

           "True enough. " Wilkes  left, disappearing into the growing shadows as if he were

             one himself. 

           "Are you all right?" Leo asked. 

            "Yes. Let's just take them to the hospital. I know, it's risky to move them, but

              I don't think we should hang around."  
             Leo carried Paige to the SUV.  Piper helped Stevie into the back seat.  

  
  


             Wilkes  stared after them.  "It has to be her," he whispered.  "I only have ten

              days left....this has to work. It has to."  
  
             *                *                *

           The ER staff  set Stevie's arm, placing a cast on it. Paige had a concussion and

           had sprained her ankle.  Leo called Stevie's boyfriend to pick her up, at the

           woman's request.  

           "Did you know those guys?"  Piper asked Stevie.

           "Their leader has been in before. He gave me a list of books he was looking for....

            after I read it, I simply asked him not to come back. None of them were ones

            I would ever be selling."

            "Was that the man we talked to? Wilkes?"  
             "Is that his name-- the one who was in charge tonight?  Yes. He didn't want to

             tell me. " 

             "Did he hurt you?"

              "No. Nor threatened me openly......though he made it clear he's not big on 

               tolerance where witches are concerned."  
              Piper rolled her eyes.  "Why couldn't I stop you from falling?  I--tried a spell, one

              that's worked before, but nothing happened. "  
              "You are a natural witch, then? You have active powers," Stevie clarified.

               "Yes. I can freeze time."  
               Stevie looked embarrassed. "It's my own fault, I'm afraid." She reached under her

         blouse, drawing out a chain on which a clear blue stone hung. "This  talisman was 

         a gift from my grandmother. It has warding  spells on it, to fend  off any magic that

        I'm not performing myself.,  or a participant in.  I'm not as strong as she is-- my

        best talent is farsight. Seeing things happen at a distance. Speaking of which-- is your

        coven going to be 'all ages', or the younger set, like you and your sisters?"

        "No, we'd much rather have it be a mix," Piper  said. "My Grams was....extraordinary,

         she gets more powerful as time goes by, I think..."  
         "Oh? I thought she'd passed on?" 

          Leo coughed. "Um. Yes. I meant, while she was alive. I still tend to include her when

          I'm thinking about the family," Piper was flustered.

          "I understand. Then, if you don't mind, can I give my _gran'mere _your home number? She

           would very much like to talk to you."

          "You told her....?"  
          "No, Piper. I don't discuss other people's business even with her. I didn't have to.  She said to

           tell you that your sister isn't the only one who can see the future sometimes...and not the only

           witch who hasn't always kept demons at a 'safe distance'. Whatever that means."  
           "All right." Piper scribbled down her home phone number.  "I'll look forward to hearing from

           her. "  
           Stevie  smirked a little. "Good luck," was all she said.  

          Phoebe was waiting at the front door when they finally got home.  Paige was awake, though

          bruised, and had a fierce headache. She went up to bed.  Piper and Leo told Phoebe about

          Wilkes.

          "Free House of God...no, I haven't heard of them. I'll see what I can find out. Maybe Darryl

           knows something." 

    "About what?"  someone asked from behind them.

  "Bane?" 

  
"The one and only," he replied.  "I...told you four days because I wasn't sure I'd be able to

get here sooner. I.....had to take care of something and I...wanted to visit Prue first. " His

shoulders slumped. "I'd hoped....she'd be here when I was released, but--hells." He looked

a t  Piper. "Thank you for writing me to tell me.  And for the invitation. I swear I won't let

you down."   
Piper let out a sigh. "I believe you. Come on in, and we'll bring you up to speed. It's been

an eventful day."  
"The best kind," Bane said with a straight face.  

             
           

             
     


	7. Night Moves

                             Coven 

Piper directed  Bane and Dylan down the stairs to the basement. All three carried armloads

of blankets, pillows, and toiletries.  After much discussion,  they'd decided that the "guys"

would bunk down in here, while Poppy took the room that had used to belong to Grams.

In the morning, Bane would go to a hotel until he could find an apartment.  Leo had

located a battered but usable cot. Dylan simply asked for a sleeping bag. "That'll be

enough," he assured the Halliwells. "I'm used to it, I go camping all the time. "

  
Bane hadn't heard of the  'Free House'. Neither had Darryl. Phoebe had gone to

the library to look for any recent newspaper articles or references to Wilkes.   
Bane looked around.  
"I know it's not much,but--"  
  


He laughed softly. "Piper, I've been living in a cell that was  eight feet across 

for  years. This is plenty."   
  


" 'K. Come on back up if you need anything else."  Piper set her load down. 

  
Leo was waiting for her in the kitchen. "It's almost midnight, Piper," he said. "You

need your sleep."

  
"No argument on that score." She let him pull her along as he started toward their

room. 

The phone rang. Irritated, Piper snatched the cordless unit off the stand. "Hello?"

"Piper, it's me," Phoebe said. "Inspector Cortez just called...."  
  
"Oh, not again!"

"No. Not again. Darryl gave him the number. I think he was right to."  
  
"Why, what's going on?:"

" The Inspector told me only some of it. There are .....there have been  murders that look

to Cortez as though they were done supernaturally. From what he's said, it sounds

like there's a good possibility they were killed by some kind of demonic predator, like

the Wendigo or vampires.He wants to know will you or I meet with him." 

  
"Now?"

  
"Cortez  said tomorrow, morning.  One detail he gave me is,  the deaths all

occurred at night. I said we'd call him back. He sounds-- he's scared, Piper. He 

promised he'll meet us alone, anywhere we want, and no surveillance or tricks."

"Oohhh, that does not sound good."   
  


"How do you want to handle it? "  
  
Piper thought quickly . " Have him meet us at Starbucks over on Twentieth

Street. Eight o'clock. I don't want him  at the Manor.  Particularly now. If need be,

we can go somewhere more private from there."  
  
"Gotcha."  
  
Piper felt a pair of muscular, work-roughened hands grip her shoulders. She and  
Leo orbed into their room, sans telephone. "Hey!" she protested.

"You  think being at gunpoint   once a day isn't   sufficient?" 

Piper furrowed her brow . "You don't think we should talk with him?"

  
"Not alone. Take Bane with you. He's the most devious of this bunch, and used to

outthinking cops.. Cortez won't be able to con him, if the  Inspector is playing games

with you again. Tomorrow," he added flatly.  
  
  
*                  *                  *

Cara stared up at the sign over the doors. It said San Francisco Memorial Hospital.

She'd gotten into San Francisco, finally. It was almost two in the morning.    
She'd asked the driver for directions to a safe motel. However, on her way there 

she'd felt....something wrong.  Magic that had a 'feel' to it like nails scraping over 

a chalkboard.  She didn't recognize it; all she could sense clearly was that sense

of -- of distortion, and the general direction it was coming from.  Her uneasiness

became too great for her to ignore. She began to follow the "scent".  Here was

where the trail ended, by the doors that led into the Emergency Room.

The parking lot was mostly deserted. A single ambulance was parked by the 

entrance. Cara didn't see anybody. 

She walked past the ambulance, angling toward  the building.  _Where did it go? I_

_know I felt it here--_

Glass sprayed wildly in all directions as a man  wearing an EMT jacket was tossed

through the ambulance windshield. 

  
The sense of presence, of hatred like acid burning her skin,  flooded over her. 

Cara ran to where the  man lay. "Don't move!" she called. She could see dozens of

small and not-so-small cuts on his bare skin. His right cheek and ear were shredded,

gory.  She crouched beside him, yanking off her scarf. The laceration across his

throat was the most serious. It had missed the jugular...barely. She folded the 

cashmere into a rough square, pressing it against his neck. 

From above them, something _snarled. _The sound echoed through the lot.

Cara's head jerked up.   
A humanoid figure was standing on the hood. Two others peered through the broken

windshield.  Blood and....oh  Hecate, was that flesh? dripped from mouths filled with

fangs.  Grey-skinned, bloodshot eyes,  hands that ended in clawed fingers...

That last detail triggered a memory. What was it--yes-- _uh oh. _

_Ghouls.  Demons, eaters of human flesh. Don't care if the victim is alive or_

_dead. _ She grabbed the man's arm. Pulled him into a standing  position. "Ok, look,

we need to get inside. Now."

They half-ran , half-limped toward the building.   
Cara felt a rush of air at her back. She let go of the EMT and dodged to the left,

narrowly  avoiding the ghoul that had lunged at her.

"What the hell is wrong with them?" The man stared at the three demons.

"You want me to explain that _now?!_ Run!"  Cara screamed at him.

He bolted. Cara recited the words of  a  spell she'd memorized, speaking so

rapidly she slurred some of the words. She hoped the Greater Powers would be willing

to cut her some slack; she had bigger worries than correct etiquette at the moment. 

  
A shimmering in the air, like heat haze, surrounded the ghouls.  They stopped their advance.

  
"C'mon, " Cara taunted. "Come on, you suckers, what are you, scared of  little me?"  
  
The lead ghoul rushed at her. He struck the "mist".. and was engulfed in white-hot

flames.

His mouth opened in a silent scream.  Cara snickered.  _That's what you get for _

_thinking with your stomach..._

The body dropped to the pavement, smoking, skin charred and  blackened.

She threw a glance  at the ghouls that remained imprisoned. 

 _Going to have to vanquish them too, _

she thought. _I can't let them go. They'd attack anyone who came out---hell,_

_the way they look, they might go inside after the patients..._

A clawed hand wrapped around her ankle, jerking her off her feet.  She fell.

The ghoul's eyes blazed as it dragged her closer. Horrified, Cara saw that the burns

she'd inflicted were no longer blackened, but reddish-- and then fading to pink and

blistered..... _You've got to be kidding me!!     _She dug her fingers into the soft

earth, grasping at anything she could reach to keep from being drawn any further.    
  


"What's going on over there?" someone yelled.  

She heard footsteps, and more  yelling. The ghoul's hand was  locked on her

ankle. Cara had about three seconds to act before the hospital employees

got so close the ghouls would go after _them. _She couldn't hold the burning ward

up indefinitely. Nor was it doing her much good.

She made a quick prayer to anyone who might be listening, and "slid out", taking 

the ghouls with her.

  
The two who had been hanging back swarmed over her. Cara cried out as teeth

sank into her leg, her arm, her face....

Across town,  Leo woke up, gasping in mingled shock and pain.  "Cara.....oh God-!"

He stumbled out of bed. Before Piper could ask him what was wrong, he orbed.

He reappeared a scant second later, holding a strange girl, both of them covered in

her blood.

   
"Piper, get Paige-- I can't do this alone, it's too much.  _Hurry. Up." _

Piper left the room at a dead run.   
  
__

  
  


  
  


  
  
  
  



	8. Insomnia AM

                                  Coven 

"Paige, wake up! _Wake _ _up, _damn it!"

Paige opened her eyes, blinking drowsily. "Piper?"  She sat up. "What?"

"Leo needs help, _now. _One of his charges is here...and she's bleeding to

death."  
Paige didn't argue or ask further questions. She scrambled to her feet,

and the two witches dashed  back to the bedroom Piper and Leo

shared. Leo was leaning over Cara. The young woman was still unconscious.

Paige turned slightly green at the sight of her face and throat; tried to

not look too carefully at the places where flesh had been ripped away to

show the muscle or bone underneath. She climbed onto the bed, laying her

hands atop  Leo's. 

It was like trying to push a stone wall. Healing was normally not _difficult, _

though sometimes taxing; but--it was as if something was fighting their 

 power. Paige clenched her teeth and "pushed" back, redoubling

her efforts.    
Finally, they managed to heal the most deadly wounds, those that would

kill without intervention.   
Accomplishing that left Paige weak and dizzy. She stared at Leo, who

looked little better. "What's wrong? Why can't we heal her completely?"

Cara's face was still a ruin, and there were jagged tears along her

arm and over her stomach. Her clothing remained  gory, shredded.

  
"She's one of the _Ri'alan."_

"The what?"

"Halfblooded, witch mother or grandmother and nonhuman father. No,

not demons. Sidhe. Magical races,  not necessarily evil. Cara's

paternal great-grandfather was a man of the Wild Hunt. So it's like what

happened with Mylie, or Pacific Phoebe."  
"What?" 

"You know, when she--"  
"Oh, right. Gotcha....you came up with a _nickname _for someone

who's turned herself into a mermaid? Leo, hon, you _need_ to get out

more."  Paige grinned at him, shaking her head.

Piper got the first aid kit from the bathroom. She began cleaning and

bandaging Cara's injuries. The "patient" was still unconscious.    
"Leo,what happened to her?"

"Demons. She killed one of them...barely. Ghouls," he specified. "Three

of them. I don't understand why she got overwhelmed like that. Cara's

strong, and while ghouls are vicious, she should have been able to handle

it."  
Cara stirred slightly, coughing. Blood trickled from her lips.  "L...Leo?"  
"I'm here, Cara."  
"It...hurts... Why--"  
"I can't, not entirely. I'm sorry. I tried, so did Paige...Do you want to go to

a hospital? We'll think of something to tell them."  
"No. In my tote-- the jewelry box-- there's a crystal in it that's bespelled

for healing. Devlin said...it'd work on me. White quartz, carved in a pyramid shape."  
Piper gingerly unzipped the muddy, bloodstained tote.  She rummaged through it.

"Here we go."   
Cara sat up. The bruises and cuts on her face looked like a bizarre mask of various

ugly colors. She reached out a hand, palm up. Piper set the pyramid against her

skin.    
The cuts vanished as they watched. The bruises faded, but didn't heal altogether.

Some color returned to Cara's face. Her voice when she spoke was no longer

hoarse or weak.   
"I tried to burn the other ghouls...Someone had a protection spell on them. It

took most of my strength just to nail that one. "

"You should have called me sooner."  
"This wasn't anything I expected. I was on my way to a motel and I...I sensed

them. They'd  killed at least two people. I didn't see waiting around for

reinforcements as much of a choice." Cara shrugged. She scrutinized  Piper.  
"Mrs. Halliwell?" she asked. "And --you'd be  Paige Matthews?"

"Guilty as charged." 

  
"Cara Morgan. And thank you, both, though I--can't exactly say I'm pleased to

meet you. I do_  try _ not  to get myself turned into hamburger and tap 

people to come rescue my butt at insomnia a.m. often, if that helps."

"Glad to hear it. I understand. Are you--" Piper's question was interrupted by

Cara's yawning.

"_Sorry!_  Healing spells do that to me. Part of why I'd still rather have a 'Lighter

do it. That, and the scenery," she jibed.   Piper abruptly

noticed that her husband was mostly undressed. Leo gave Cara a look that

stopped any further wise-ass comments, though her grin  lingered. 

"She's  lost a lot of blood," Leo said. "She needs to rest. "  
"She can take my bed," Phoebe said. She'd come in while Leo and Paige

were trying to heal the newcomer. Seeing what was happening, she'd decided not

to risk distracting either of them. "Doesn't sound like I'm going back there tonight."

Paige groaned. "Another late-night monsterfest?"

"Not tonight," Piper said. "If the ghouls have already hunted, they'll be on their

way to their lair by now. They've eaten, after all." Her expression turned

briefly murderous. "Wandering all over town looking for them isn't going to

do anyone any good. You're hurt, Phoebe and I are both tired. If we have to

fight a warlock on top of vanquishing ghouls, we need to be at full strength.

Go to bed, Paige. Phoebe, will you take book duty, see if we need to 

write a power of three spell for these nasties?"  
"Sure." Phoebe sounded faintly surprised.   
"And in the morning we can check with Darryl-- or maybe Cortez. See if there

have been any weird occurrences lately. Ghouls avoid sunlight-- if they can,

they'll stay underground. Tunnels, caves-- maybe the sewers or subway system."  
  
"Doesn't sound we need the BOS all that much."  
  
"That's where I _got _the information, Pheebs, but I know I don't have it all memorized. It's

after the spell for the Grimlocks and before the spell to call a lost witch."

"On it." Phoebe left.   
"You going to get some more sleep too?" Paige wanted to know.

"Maybe. Leo, can you help Cara get settled? Then I'd like to have a word with

you--in _private." _

Her husband gulped. He knew that tone of Piper's. Thankfully, it wasn't one he'd

heard often. "All right." He helped Cara to her feet. They walked out, Paige

drifting after them.

Leo returned. Piper had replaced the bedspread with one that didn't have half-dried

smears of red.  She was sitting tailor style at the head of the bed.

"What didn't you want Paige and Phoebe to know about Cara? And don't tell me

nothing. You said she's strong--but you didn't say anything else about her powers.

Or about her family. Isn't Morgan one of the families we're supposed to be

contacting? You didn't mention them yesterday."

  
He sighed. "Cara does have specific powers like you three, yes. I'll tell you, if she

doesn't. I...I hope she'll be able to do it herself. I didn't mention her family because

I'm not sure they _would _help even if they could. Her mother is the head of the

family and to put it bluntly, she can be a witch with a capital _B. _Some of those bruises

Cara has...weren't caused by the ghouls, Piper. That's another reason why neither I

nor that talisman could help her. I will tell you that she--Cara--is very knowledgeable

about witchcraft, she grew up among witches who belonged to a coven in Los

Angeles. She's powerful enough to be a real asset if that's what she wants. Or if 

you want."  
  
"I don't know yet," Piper said. "We'll see what happens tomorrow. Do you think

she'll be recovered enough by then to work with us?"

"Yes, she should be."  
  
"Then the four of us will go finish the job she started. I'll decide on whether or not

to invite her into the coven when I see how she handles that. If  she makes a

habit of playing Lone Ranger-- We need her to cooperate with us, not go off

half-cocked. That will get her killed if she keeps it up. If she can't or won't learn to be

part of a team...I don't want our lives depending on her. I'll give her a fair

chance, I do promise that."

Leo slid in close to Piper. "That's all I'm asking." He kissed her lips softly. "Let's talk about

something else, shall we?"

"Talk? Is that what you feel like?"  Piper rested a hand on his chest. "I thought I might do

a little' sight-seeing' of my own..." her fingers ran down over his flat stomach, tracing hard

muscles, caressing lower-- "Up close."   
  
"Only seeing ?" Leo feigned disappointment as she moved away a short distance.

  
"Did I say that?"  She pounced on him, tackling him to the mattress. Leo "surrendered".

His laughter joined hers while they sank into the pillows. 

  
  
  


  
  
  
  



	9. Battle Plans

                        **Coven**

P3 was deserted, quiet; the club didn't even open until noon. Piper usually

took advantage of that to sleep in, but they'd told Cortez to meet them

here.  Paige was staying at the Manor, while Phoebe, Leo and Piper 

waited for him.   
He arrived at precisely eight.  "Good morning," Piper greeted him.   
Cortez looked around. "Huh. You'd never know this place was anything 

out of the ordinary."  
"For a club? I like to think P3 is anything but ordinary. Most of my 

customers certainly seem to; we have a full house almost every weekend."  
  


"Oh. I thought...I assumed you also used this place for your other work."

  
Piper's forehead wrinkled in bafflement. "Here? This is a public place. I don't

think so. P3 is just what it looks like, a legitimate business. After all, my

'other work' doesn't make money appear out of nowhere. I have to pay for

stuff like groceries and cable TV and gas  like anyone else." She shrugged. "You

wanted to talk to us about a case?" she prompted, leaning forward. She set her

cup of coffee down on the table.   
Cortez hesitated, then sat across from her.   
He looked tired, Piper thought. Tired, stressed out, worried.   
"You need to start listening to your cardiologist, Inspector," Leo said.

"...What?"

  
"I'm.....a bit more observant than most people. You've recently had a heart attack?"

  
Cortez chuckled. The sound held no mirth. "Yes. Four weeks ago. My doctor's been

after me to take a sabbatical from work. Quit, even, if need be. "  
  


 "Then why....?"  
  
"Because no one is looking into the ...the supernatural angle on this case, and I'm

convinced that what's happening isn't normal criminals, or even insane ones. If I

don't find an answer, no one except perhaps Detective Morris will pursue it...and

this particular case is being handled by the Special Crimes Unit, not the Homicide

Division. He's not on it. Out of his jurisdiction completely."  
  
"Tell us," Piper said. "Start at the beginning. Darryl mentioned there have been

two unsolved murders--?"  
  
"As of last night it's up to five.  All within the last two months, and happening the

same way. The first one, we believed the victim was attacked by an animal--perhaps

a large dog, or a coyote. The body was....torn up, and partially eaten. But the ....the

marks on the body didn't match canine tooth or claw shapes. Whatever did it has a

mouth full of nothing but triangular teeth, round, more like a shark's than anything."  
  


Cortez opened his briefcase and took out a manila folder. He offered it to Piper.

. Phoebe and Leo peered over her shoulders as she read through the

contents.   
"All of them died at night," Phoebe realized.   
"The first three were each alone. The last two--a paramedic and the patient he was

rushing to the hospital....wait. Wait a minute. It says 'patients' here. Plural. That....

should be six or more, not five."

"There were two EMTs in the ambulance," Cortez said. "One survived. He said

there were two patients. They'd been at a bar, drinking, and apparently got into a

fight. One stabbed the other,  and got knocked out....so they took them both in.

He doesn't remember everything that happened clearly...he got his ass kicked over

most of the parking lot, from what the doctors say."  
  
"The other......patient.....wasn't in the ambulance when it was all over?"

"No." 

Piper raised her eyebrows. "Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a winner."  
  
"I'm sorry? That was a little too fast for me."  
  
"Cortez, how did the attacker get in the ambulance after it was _moving?_ "  
  


He whistled softly. "So, we're only looking for one--creature?" 

"Or two," said Phoebe. "Where's this other patient?"  
  
"In the morgue," Cortez said. 

"Uhh-- that may not mean he's dead, if he is really an 'it', Inspector. First thing to

do is check and make sure the guy's still in his cubicle there or whatever, not out

looking for a free lunch."  
  
"You're not kidding."  
  
"Wish I was."   
  


Cortez  took his cell phone out of his jacket, placing a hasty call to the City Morgue.

Several minutes passed. Phoebe fought down the urge to smirk, as they listened to

him try to convince the morgue workers that he wasn't joking, and come up with a

good reason to explain why he wanted them to check on the body.  _How's it feel_

_having the shoe on the other foot, Inspector? _ she thought at him.   
Her amusement stopped when Cortez stiffened and said, "I see......No, I don't

doubt you did. No.  I really don't think that's very likely.  More probable that our

suspect is trying to hide the evidence. You might want to work on tightening your

security, but that's your call. I'll have my people keep an eye out.....You have the

worst job though: trying to explain this to the next of kin. My sympathies. Yes, I

will. " He hung up.

"He's-- it's-- not there." Piper's voice was tight.

"No. The supervisor swears it was placed in a secured area immediately after the

autopsy was completed. That was less than an hour ago."  
  
"Where could it have gone?" Phoebe asked. "It's daylight. If this is what we think,

he couldn't have left the building....oh, _damn."_

  
"You already have an idea what this might be?"

The sisters and their Whitelighter exchanged a look.  "Ghouls," Piper said. "Flesh eaters

who prey on humans, especially weak or injured people. All the attacks happened 

near the hospital, while people were leaving after treatment or being brought in. If I were

forced to guess, I'd say they see San Francisco Memorial as their personal buffet."  
  
"How do I kill one?" 

"You're not going to want to hear this, but  I don't think  you can. Or not alone. One of

our.....acquaintances had a run-in with these guys last night, Inspector. I suspect she's the

main reason why there were _any _survivors. And it took everything she had to accomplish

that much....almost  took her getting killed. She's in bad shape."  
  
Cortez glanced at Leo. "Can't you--?" He gestured, touching his back. "You healed me. You

can't do it for witches?"

"I can normally. There are...complications.  I have to agree with Piper. This is going

to take a joint effort. So now we have to ask which matters more to you, putting a stop to these

killers, or your belief that we're evil."  
  
Cortez snickered. "It's a bit late for me to start worrying about that. I'm in. What do we need to

do?" he asked, meeting Piper's eyes. 

After some discussion, it was decided that Cortez would  go back to the police station and

look up the home addresses of the "missing people." Leo and Piper thought it unlikely that the

ghouls were in the hospital itself-- wandering around the halls would draw attention to them. Their

research had implied that ghouls tended to sleep during daylight hours, even if they were indoors.   
"More likely they're hiding somewhere on the grounds-- storerooms, the parking garage, maybe

the sewers beneath the building. We can scry, determine if they're in the building, but if not--they'd

go to someplace familiar. From when they were....."  
  
"Were still human?" Cortez finished. "Is this....condition of theirs, reversible?"    
  
"Not now," Phoebe said flatly. "There's a spell that can cure someone who's been bitten, yes,

but it has to be done before the infected person kills anybody. After that, the victim's body

--changes. Technically, they're not alive anymore. They'll die if they don't feed, and they can't

live on the sort of food that will sustain a human life. There's nothing we can do except make

sure it ends with them."  
  


If the ghouls had left the hospital altogether, the Halliwells would call Cortez and they would go

search the residences. Leo had advised Cortez to bring a shotgun, as well as a Kevlar vest. "Bullets

may not kill them, but they'll still hurt. Slow them down."   
  
"Silver bullets?" asked Cortez, frowning. "I--could  get some. It'd take a few hours."  
  
"No. Ordinary bullets will work , it doesn't make any difference if you use lead or silver."

He left, muttering to himself . Piper watched him go.  "Would 'cold iron' be effective too?"

she asked Leo.

"Yes, as far as I know."  
  
"Thinking maybe Phoebe could bring that sword...of hers," Piper bit her tongue. She'd been about to

say "that Cole gave her." She didn't think Phoebe would appreciate the reminder. "You have a cane

sheath for it, right? So you could carry it hidden."  
  


Phoebe nodded. "Yes. I could borrow a couple knives or swords from my old _sensei, _too," she offered.

"He collects antique weapons."   
  
"Piper--" Leo began to object.

"We'll try the spell Phoebe found, first, Leo, but if there's a warlock protecting them, we may need to have other

options. "

"You don't know how to _use _a sword, Piper," he pointed out. 

  
"I'm sure you and Phoebe can show me a few moves. We're not going for fancy or advanced skill, just 'swing it

without cutting my own head off'. " 

"And Cara's a martial artist too," Phoebe added. "She might have had even more training than me."  
  
"She told you that?"  Leo sounded pleased, if mildly surprised.

"I can see it, Leo. The way she moves. She's got calluses and scars on her hands, the kind you get from sword

practice, too. Do you know what school she follows?"

:"Jujitsu. I think she's a-- green belt?"

"Not  bad. Not a master,but not a novice either."

They returned to the Manor. Cara was awake, sitting at the kitchen table with Bane and Paige.The young

woman looked much better. She'd changed into clean clothes; a Hard Rock Cafe T-shirt and

jeans. The bruises she'd had last night were faded to yellow.  Her face was no longer so deathly pale.

  Piper filled them in on the plan. Cara listened attentively.

 "Yes, I'm still studying jujitsu. I don't own a sword of my own yet, just

a couple of daggers. I hope we don't _have _to get that close to them,"  she said. 

"Do you feel up to scrying? You've had the most contact with the ghouls."  
  
Cara gulped. "Yes. All right. " She stood. 

  
"I can bring a map and some crystals down here," Paige said.   
  
"Hmm? Oh, no. I mean, yes, a map would be a good idea. I don't often use crystals. I prefer

water- or fire-based spells-- those are a bit more informative. We should try to see them, not just get

a location. We don't know for certain how many there are. Could be they're splitting into smaller

groups to hunt, and this is only the first group to be noticed. Three's kind of small for a pack."

"Cara, do you really need to scry for them?" Leo's voice was quiet.

Cara winced. "I think I do. I've been...trying to look around, but there's too much demonic

activity in a city this size. I can't differentiate. Plus that warlock must know I'm in San Francisco

by now.  We need to use a passive spell, not something that involves direct contact with them."  
  
"If he were more powerful than you _and_  these three, we'd have heard of him before now."  
  
"Leo. You should be able to sense that my shields are like wet confetti. I'll do everything I can to

help, but I don't see how handing myself over to this creep on a plate is part of that."  
  
"Everything?" 

Her green eyes hardened. "Yes. You're confusing me with my mother. I don't make a habit

of not keeping promises. You know that."  
  
"I do," he agreed.   
  
Cara twisted in her seat, noticing the bewildered looks everyone else wore. "You haven't told

them?" she asked, startled.

"That's not my place. I hope you'll feel safe enough _here _to confide in them, but that takes 

time."  
  
Piper shut her mouth on the questions she wanted to ask. "Paige," she prompted.   
  
The youngest Charmed One left to get the map.  Cara fidgeted, tugging at the French braid that

held her black hair. 

Bane put a hand on her arm. "Hey. It's ok to be scared. Hell, you'd be plain stupid if you weren't.

You don't have to face them alone this time. " He waited until she smiled crookedly. "You mentioned

knives?" he asked. "Any chance I could borrow one?"

"You been in knife fights before?"  
  
"Oh  yeah."  
  
"Then, sure. They're in my bag upstairs--take a look if you want."  
  
He went upstairs, passing Paige on her way down. Cara filled a  bowl with bottled water. She

set it on the table beside the map.   
"Keara, lady of the waves, I call upon thee. Bring light to darkened waters, reveal what I would

see." She dipped a finger into the bowl, and touched that finger lightly to the map.

The water began to glow softly. It flowed off her skin, and slid in a bubble over the paper, to

pool over a single spot. 

"29th and Hanson," Phoebe read off the map. 

Cara tapped the bubble. It slid back into her hand.She dropped it back into the bowl.  "Currents 

flow, far and wide; show us now what passes inside."

She bent over the bowl, gazing into it. Piper and Phoebe copied her example.  
  
An image appeared in the water. The interior of an apartment. Four....people-- no. Not people.

Ghouls. They were lying on couches or sprawled on the floor. Piper could see one's teeth as

his mouth opened slightly while he breathed. 

"Only four. "Phoebe sighed in relief.

  
"That's plenty," Leo said. 

Cara murmured something. The image went dark. Then they were looking at nothing but water.

She picked up the bowl and poured the contents down the sink.

"Time to call Cortez," Piper said. "Good job, Cara."  
  
Bane came downstairs. He handed Cara one of the two sheathed knives he was carrying.   
She took it, strapping the sheath onto her forearm.   
  
"He'll meet us there," Piper said, hanging up the phone. "Let's go."

"I'll go on ahead in case he needs help," Leo decided. He orbed.   
Cara, Paige, and Bane grabbed their jackets off the coatrack as they followed Piper and

Phoebe out to the SUV. 

  
  
  
  
  



	10. Murphy's Law A La Wicca

                    **   Coven **

They arrived at the house just in time to hear gunshots.   
The Halliwell sisters exchanged horrified looks, and ran up the

sidewalk, Bane and Cara barely half a step behind them.

"Leo? _Leo!" _Piper sounded terrified.   
"Leo, if you're outnumbered, grab Cortez and get the hell out of

there!" Bane yelled.   
Leo and Cortez appeared on the lawn an instant later. Leo had a

bloody nose. Both men's clothes were splattered with blood and

ichor.   
"The warlock's there," Leo rasped. His throat was bruised. "He was

waiting for us."  
"Does he know we're coming?" asked Piper.   
"I'm not sure-- but--he said there'd be more ghouls....he's insane. Kept

raving about....armies of darkness."  
"He's been 'collecting' them is how he put it," Cortez added. "Said it'd

be interesting to see if even the famous Charmed Ones--what the hell

does _that _mean?-- could vanquish a hundred of those things."  
Bane cursed softly.   
"Um, guys?" Paige pointed to the front door.

A young man stood in the doorway. Tall, blond hair and blue eyes,

wearing jeans and a leather jacket....

"God, he's just a kid," Phoebe whispered.   
Piper felt a chill go over her, the kind she often felt in a warlock's presence.

"He's old enough to have murdered innocent people, Phoebe." She could

understand her sister's reaction. The warlock didn't appear to be more than

eighteen. He watched them, smiling almost flirtatiously.

"I-- I know, it's--"  
"No buts. What are we going to do, put him in jail? He wouldn't stay, and

how many more people would he kill on the way out?" Piper shook her head.

"Break the tie, no demons bound-- the fate he's given, now comes around," she

said clearly, Paige and Phoebe echoing her. Cortez looked at her,startled.   
"No. NO!!" The warlock started  toward her as she began speaking. 

Bane stepped in front of the sisters. Cara moved to stand protectively beside

Leo and Cortez. 

The young man screamed as their improvised spell took effect. He collapsed

on the front porch, vomiting blood.   
"What...what's happening to him?" asked Cortez.

"What he did to their victims," Leo said. "He controlled the ghouls, directed them

to hunt--they got the flesh, he drained the victims of any magical abilities or life

energy they had. Like using them for batteries to--"

An emaciated, grey-skinned arm reached through the open door, snagging the

back of the warlock's jacket. He batted at the ghouls' grasping hands as he

was hauled back inside the house. "No....no! Help me, please! Someone!" 

He began screaming. It drowned out the other sounds coming from inside

the building. One of the ghouls peered out at them, then slammed the door

shut.   
The screams were cut off suddenly. 

"He's dead," Leo and Cara said almost simultaneously.   
"How many of them..."  
"Half a dozen, maybe ten? We had trouble keeping track. They weren't exactly

sitting still."  
Piper shut her eyes briefly. 

"All right. Let's go."   
She pointed at the front door. It burst.  The witches rushed through the opening.

Piper blew up the first ghoul she saw. It exploded, and was gone.

Paige orbed behind another, shoving it viciously forward. Phoebe levitated and

kicked the demon, snapping its' neck. It dropped.  The other ghouls began to

spread out, trying to surround their attackers.   
Bane raised both hands. Piper felt her hair standing on end...literally. There was

a smell like ....ozone? and then lightning surged from the electrical outlets 

in the living room. Three of the ghouls began to jerk spasmodically, their flesh

smoking.    
Paige jerked away. "Ow! Bane, watch where you're aiming!" 

"I...how do I turn it _off?! _ I didn't--I've never--"

An overhead lamp blew up. A bolt of lightning struck a coffee table next to

Piper. 

The half-dozen surviving ghouls turned and bolted toward the back of the house.

"Shit!"  
"They're getting away--"  
"No. There's no back door," Cortez said. "What--"  
"Oh God," Phoebe staggered.Her face turned white.. "Piper--I just saw--they've got someone locked up in another room. A hostage--"  
"All right. Bane, get a grip. Clear your mind. Yes, I know that sounds insane,

just do it!" Piper ordered. "Leo,get us back there!" She grabbed her husband's

wrist. Cara held his shoulder as they orbed. 

The ghouls had encircled their hostage--an African-American woman, who glared at them

defiantly. She held something in her arms....a blanket? Piper couldn't make it

out.   
Then the "blanket" lifted its' head and began to cry loudly. The ghouls moved

closer. One was actually salivating.

Piper began to point. Cara caught her wrist. "No. There's too many for you to

get all at once. You're going to have to trust me.  I know it's too early to ask,

but _I have to. _I don't want to see innocents die either." She locked eyes with

Piper.

The Charmed One nodded. Cara released her. She spun to face the ghouls.

Piper could feel power--magic--radiating from the woman like heat off a

furnace.  The ghouls froze.

"Stop." Cara's voice was quiet, but audible throughout the room. "By my

power I bind you. By my name I bind you. By my blood I bind you. You

are mine. To free or to command."   
The demons, one by one, dropped to their knees. They lowered their

gaze respectfully.

"_Gran'mere, _can you walk?" Cara asked, not looking away from the ghouls.

The woman hobbled over to them. She was old, her hair gray, face wrinkled

and soft like ancient parchment. But there was keen intelligence in her dark

eyes as she searched Cara's face. "A Caller of the Dead, is it?"  
"Among other things."  
"A rare gift. Rarer yet for a witch who doesn't belong to the underworld.

My name is Andrea Struewing, and this little one is my great-grandson. May

I know who it is I owe his life to?"

"I'm Cara Morgan, Andrea. But I ask no payment for this; I don't serve the

Dark any more than you yourself."  
"You know that, do you?" Andrea sounded skeptical.   
"That I don't serve, doesn't mean all of my family are on the same side.  
This....wasn't the only time I've had to face down other users of magic

to the death," Cara said. "I...know what it feels like when someone's

magic becomes tainted by hate, or cruelty."

Andrea winced. She hesitated, then touched Cara's cheek, her temple.

She smoothed the younger woman's forehead lightly with warm, brown

fingers. The last bruises vanished from Cara's face and neck.

"Can't let a pale sister go away looking like _that," _Andrea said, smiling

crookedly.   
"Th..thank you. Leo, can you take them home? Or maybe they should go

to the hospital."   
"No, that's not necessary. They didn't hurt us. They....were waiting for

later. I _would _like to get out of here, and no doubt this handful's parents

want to see him safe."  
Leo orbed out with Andrea and the baby. The ghouls still hadn't moved.   
"How long can you keep them controlled?" asked Piper. She was a little

unnerved by Cara's display.

"Long enough to make sure they don't move while we torch the place,"  
Cara said.  She gulped. "I....didn't want you to find out this way, Piper.

If it helps-- I can't hurt you, and I'm definitely not invulnerable. My power

doesn't work on living humans, witch or otherwise. But.....I understand if

you don't want me around....I mean, she was right. Most people with this

ability end up working _with _the demons, not against them."  
"Was I wrong in trusting you with my life, then? With my family? 'Cause

it doesn't look like that to me."  
"No!" Cara's response was immediate. "I wouldn't--"  
"I know. Come on, we need to find something to start a fire with." Piper

led her out of the kitchen  Neither of them looked back. The ghouls remained

unmoving as Piper firmly shut the door and locked it behind her.

Cortez had the eminently practical suggestion of siphoning about half a

gallon of gasoline out of the SUV, and using that as their firestarting 

material. The idea drew odd stares  from the witches, but they wisely

didn't comment on how quickly he came up with the idea. 

Bane, having gotten his new power at least temporarily under

control, poured the can of gas liberally over the furniture.  "Light the rug,"

he told Paige. "It'll catch, but slowly enough to let us get out of here."  
She complied. They all hurried out of the house, and drove away.

  
  
__


	11. Double, double, boil and trouble

                            ****

A week later 

Piper  stirred the herbs in her saucepan--she would _not _call it a cauldron--watching

the temperature. This potion needed to be hot, but not boiling.  
"All right, we need sage next--for what?"  she asked, looking over at the

group gathered around the kitchen island. Poppy and Dylan sat next to each

other, Bane across from them. Stevie had come by on another errand, and

been invited to sit in.   
"Uhh. Salt substitute?" Bane joked.  
Piper smiled. "Thank you, Bane."  
"I got one right?"   
"No, the 'thank you' is for volunteering to test this, once it's finished."  
"What?! Oh, no, no, no....no way--"  
"Way," the twins chorused. 

Bane glanced around. There were sympathetic smiles on the others' faces,

but no one said they were kidding. He groaned.

"Sage is usually for purification, isn't it?"   
"That's right, Poppy."  
The girl's eyes darkened thoughtfully. "Huh. No, I still don't remember

any potion that would use those four herbs. Sage, purification, lavender

for relaxation or calm, boneset --if pennyroyal wasn't

one of the ingredients, I'd say it was one of those infusions you make for

your tea, but you wouldn't give a pregnant woman that. Something to do with

healing?" she guessed, throwing up her hands. 

"Yes. This is the mixture we gave Cortez, and Leo, after that fight last weekend.

Add mandrake and slippery elm bark, and it'll cleanse ghoul's venom from 

someone's body. It has to be drunk. The basic potion can also relieve pain and

help heal injuries."  
"Speaking of which, " Bane said, "where _are _your little sisters? We're missing a few

people."  
"Phoebe is at work, and Paige and Leo went to talk to Mrs.Struewing. She and her

family needed to discuss some things with them."

  
The doorbell rang. "I'll get it," Dylan volunteered. He went out. Piper watched

him go, a little concerned. Dylan hadn't said two words all morning. Poppy was the

more outgoing and energetic of the two. He tended to get lost in his twin's shadow.

"Penny for your thoughts," Bane said.

She giggled. "Oh, no. At least a quarter. I'm _not _cheap."

He took her hand in his, squeezing lightly. "Prue wouldn't have done a better

job than you are," he said seriously.

Piper gave a start. "Bane--?"

"No, I can't tell what you're actually thinking.  I have a lot of practice at

reading people's expressions, the stuff they _don't _say with words. It can't be

easy. Still-- Prue was a wonderful person, Piper, but I don't make the mistake

of putting anyone on a pedestal. That's unfair to everyone involved. She was

powerful, and intelligent, yes. Also used to being in charge, to looking

after everyone. It's a teacher who's needed here, not a protector or den

mother. The witches in this coven will have to be able to handle themselves.  
Show them what they can do. Doing it for them may be quicker, but in the

long r--"  
"Piper? Someone's here asking for you," Dylan called loudly.

Bane released Piper's hand. She smiled up at him and walked out of the

kitchen, to the front door.

"Qiang Li? Oh, it's so good to see you!" 

"_Ni hao, _Piper," the Chinese woman replied.  
"Please, come in." Piper led her indoors. "Can I get you anything? A Sprite?"  
Qiang Li sat gracefully on one of the antique chairs. "You remembered,"

she said, looking surprised but gratified.

"Of course, how could I forget? Are you still working at the theater?"

Piper went quickly to the kitchen, returning with two glasses half-filled with

Sprite and ice cubes. She handed one to Qiang, and sat on the couch, facing

her.   
"Yes. We just finished the   last showing of _Antony and Cleopatra. _I believe

the next play they want to do will be one of Tennessee Williams'-- Ah, you

have guests? If this is a bad time--" Qiang had noticed Poppy and Bane peeking

around the doorway, trying to eavesdrop.

"Guys, don't lurk," Piper said. "No, these are my cousins. They'll be staying with

us for a while. Would you excuse us, please?"--to the witches.   
They obediently disappeared upstairs. 

"That is what I needed to speak to you concerning," Qiang said hesitantly.  
" 'That'?" 

"You and your family. Your sisters."

Piper gave her a questioning glance.

"You--know I have magic."

  
"I believed so, yes. I touched one of those masks you'd made, and--I felt

something. I had no reason to think it was anything but good, though, that

_you _were good and trustworthy. I'd the impression you recognized me, too,

but you didn't say anything. I figured you were 'in the closet', if you take my

meaning, and it wasn't my place to say anything if so. You're not some

warlock out to kill any witch who lets her guard down."

"I don't do that form of magic-- enchanting items. . Only the dragon 

masks, or items I occasionally  make for ritual purposes. Not the costumes I

make for general use. However..." Qiang opened her purse, and took out a

small, plain white box. "I found this for sale at a store in my neighborhood.  
I only thought it's beautiful-- when I _touched _it-- See for yourself."

Piper opened the box. A small gold ring was inside. The band  was 

engraved with the image of a snarling lion, in incredible detail.  
She picked it up-- and dropped it almost immediately. "It's enchanted

all right. I don't recognize this, except in the general sense. Why would

anyone put that sort of spell on something, and then sell it to a complete

stranger?"

"A poor sense of humor, maybe?"  
"Not much fun for them, they wouldn't be around to see the results. Where

did you find this?"

Qiang Li handed her a receipt. Piper scanned it. "Over in Palmyra. We should

probably check it out, see if we can find out where this came from."  
"I tested the other items within the building. None had magic on them. "  
"Thank you."  
"I-- I should like to keep helping, if you could use my skills. It's true I've mostly

kept in the closet, especially since my husband died and we immigrated here....

our son has the magic, but not our daughter, Meiying. I try not to ...to flaunt it,

it's hard for her. Still. The Gods made me this gift for a reason. I've...heard of

you and your sisters. You do so much good here. I _would _like to think I could

be of value in continuing that. I'd heard you were seeking allies-- would you consider--"

  
Qiang Li was some twelve years older than Piper. The idea of having some older

witches around was, to put it mildly, enticing. Maybe Qiang could answer some of

the questions Piper had wanted to ask _someone _since she found out she was pregnant.

"I would be glad to have you with us," Piper said. "On one condition. "  
"What's that?"

"We teach each other-- starting with you helping me to learn your language. The few

words I've heard you use sound beautiful..and  I know it's not easy having to keep

secrets. This way, you have someone you can talk to openly, in your own words."

"Oh, that is not hard. Certainly." 

"All right. Come on, let's go meet the rest of this coven my sisters and I are trying to

put together." Piper and Qiang started climbing the stairs to the attic. 

*             *                 *

"You want me to....?" Cara frowned, puzzled. "All right."  
"I know this may seem like a step backwards, but I think it'll help. From what 

you and Leo are saying, no one ever helped you figure out exactly what you can

and can't do. You got that binding spell from another witch's book, 

you said."  
"Yes."  
"That's not the best approach. You need to find out where your own limits are.  
First thing should be teaching yourself to use your power in a controlled fashion.

Simply refusing to use it except in emergencies won't work. You need to be

familiar enough that you don't lose hold of it when afraid or threatened.

So we'll start with the basics...this ability of yours to 'read' any creature that

is dead or 'undead'. Work on honing it. Build your control a step at a time."  
Cara shut her eyes. Piper stayed by the Book of Shadows. She closed it.

Leo silently orbed into the attic. 

Cara jerked as if slapped. "One of the Whitelighters--?"  
"Got it in one," Leo said.   
"Now reach out a bit further. Look around the house. Are there any other

presences you can home in on?"

Piper fought a smile as a transparent figure materialized next to the younger

witch.  

"Someone else just came in....A ghost?"

"**_Not exactly," _** Penelope Halliwell replied. "**_I prefer spirit or guardian. Ghost always_**

**_makes me think of those nasty ex-comrades of Leo's....the ones who nearly killed_**

**_you both. There's a reason why the dead aren't supposed to remain in such constant_**

**_contact with the living. It isn't good for the people on either side."_**

Cara opened her eyes. "Hi," she said shyly. 

Grams moved back. "**_Pleased to meet you,dear. I've heard some good things about you._**

**_From your friend Javier as well as your father. "_**

Cara blanched.  "I.....was afraid he'd hate me, after--" she pressed a hand to her mouth.

"Neither of them does any such thing. It wasn't your fault. Javier knows that. You 

**_need to tell the Charmed Ones, and the other students, Cara. You don't want the_**

**_younger witches thinking that your power comes without an equally great price._**

**_That sort of temptation is the last thing any good witch needs."_**

"Then why....?"  
**"_ Why what?" _**

"Devlin said that...this sort of ability usually shows itself when it's going to be needed.   
But Brightlocke--that's the coven I used to belong to-- has witches that are more than

capable of protecting L.A., and the Charmed Ones seem to have this town covered

too, especially if they have a full coven working with them."  
**_"I can't tell you what's to come, that's for you all to decide, not us to dictate._**

**_As one witch to another, I'd advise that you let events take their own course_**

**_for now. You and my granddaughters need each other. The rest will come clear_**

**_when you're ready." _**

Grams turned to Piper.  "**_I'm looking forward to being a great-grandmother," _**she

said softly.  **_"Call me when your little angel's born, would you? I'd like to_**

**_be there when your baby's named."  
_**  
"Yes,  of  course!"   
  
"Like we'd dare leave her out," Leo whispered to Cara.  "She'd turn us all into frogs or

something."

"I most certainly would not. What good would frogs do anyone? Now cats, those 

**_are useful as well as smart. Which do you think he'd look good in, Piper, basic_**

**_black or tabby stripes?"_**

"Angora," Cara suggested. "Piper could line  booties with  the fur he sheds."  
  
"Whose side are _you _on?!"  from Leo.  "Ok--" as all three witches looked at him-- "I'm

getting out of here before you witchy ladies have me walking on all fours." He orbed.

Grams giggled.  "**_You've got a good one there, Piper. Hold on to him." _**

" I  intend to. And I heard what you just said, yes. So, if you'll excuse me...Cara,

if you want to practice those meditations for a while, then go help 

set up for dinner? We're having some extra guests. Mrs.Struewing and one of her

sons. "  
"All right." Cara glanced at her watch. Grams faded out as Piper left the attic

in search of her husband. 

**_  
_***             *               *

The doorbell rang.  On her way to the kitchen, Poppy went to answer it.

"Who the hell are you?" the man standing there demanded.

Poppy didn't flinch. "Unless you live here, shouldn't I be asking you that?"

He tried to push past her. She gave him a telekinetic shove backward that

slid him out of the doorway and off the porch, onto the sidewalk. He

fell, landing on his butt, staring angrily at her.

"Where's Phoebe, or her sisters? I'm her husband, damn it--"  
"According to Phoebe, she's not married. So one of us is confused and

I don't think it's me," Poppy snapped. 

"What's going on?" Leo came up behind her. His expression turned neutral,

almost cold. "Cole. What do you want?"

"What is going on here? All these people coming in and out--Bane, and

that necromancer--" he said the word as if it were an obscenity.  
"What it is doesn't concern you," Paige had joined them. "Phoebe divorced

your sorry ass, remember? This is Halliwell business and you're not a part 

of that anymore."

He glowered at her.  "You're drawing too much attention. The local demons

know you're up to something."  
"We figured," Paige answered. "That's fine. You can tell your buddies what

we said, Cole:  Bring it on."  
She slammed the door in his face.   
  


  
  


  
  
  


  
  
  
  


  
  



	12. Getaways

****

Coven 

Paige and Qiang Li strolled into the jewelry store. Laughing and chatting,

they wandered through the aisles, inspecting the display cases' contents.

Bright gold chains nestled next to cords of amber and turquoise, silver

bracelets and rings rested on trays beside jeweled earrings.   
D'Artagnan's was an upscale, and very expensive place. Paige whistled

softly as she read one of the price tags. 

"May I help you ladies?" The clerk approached, smiling .

"Do you do custom work here?" asked Paige.

"Oh yes indeed. We have several fine jewelers on retainer. Would

you like to see one of our design catalogs?" At her nod, he turned

and strode briskly over to the counter. Rummaging behind the cash

register, he produced a large folder of photos and sketches.

Paige leafed through them, and stopped at one that caught

her eye. "Whose work is this?" she asked .

"Ah. That's Dorian Castillo. He's been quite popular. However,

he doesn't design wedding rings, if that's what interests you.

Almost anything else-- bracelets, rings, torques, but not

those. I don't know why." He led them over to a glass display

tower by one wall. "These are some of his pieces that he

made over the summer--Oh, please excuse me." More people

had entered as he spoke. "If you see anything in particular,

I'll be right back." He nodded and turned away.

  
Qiang Li pointed to a solid gold bracelet that had 

a five-pointed star carved onto it. Paige's eyes flickered

to the clerk and the patrons he was chatting up. 

"Sure the glamour will hold?" she whispered urgently.

"Yes. Please trust me. It is not only you at risk here," the

older witch reminded her.

"Yeah. " Paige orbed the bracelet into her hand, stuffing

it quickly into her purse.   
  
Bane appeared at the entrance. He waved to her, smiling.

"Coming, honey, " Paige called. She heard someone chuckle

as she hurried out to him. 

"You did good."

"My first theft. A real milestone. Come on, let's get this

goodie back to the Manor."  
Bane opened his Pontiac's passenger side doors and stepped

aside to let Qiang Li and Paige be seated. 

"Did you get the name?" he questioned,glancing over his shoulder, as he

slid into the driver's seat and started the engine.

"Dorian Castillo. He's the witch."

"Do we know that for sure? Could be he just makes the pieces and someone

else does the magic on 'em afterward, " Bane said.

Paige didn't take offense at the questions. "According to Piper, if that were 

how it was done, the spell should be easy to remove. We tried to unenchant

that ring Li found, and couldn't do it even with all three of us. The magic's

been set into the metal itself, from the time the jewelry's made."

"So what does this one do?"   
  
"That we don't yet know," Qiang Li answered. "I think not the same as the

other. This...feels worse to me. I advise we don't experiment until there 

is a Whitelighter present, no offense to you, Ms. Matthews."  
  
"None taken. I think you're right. Can you hand me that case Piper 

sent with us?"  
Qiang Li opened the glove compartment. She took out a small metal

box that resembled a miniature safe.

__

Not too wrong, Paige thought. She removed the bracelet from her

purse, holding it between thumb and forefinger. Making a face,

she dropped the bracelet inside the silver-inlaid box and firml

closed the lid.

All of them breathed a sigh of relief. 

  
  



End file.
